Wearables chip saves power & improves location experience

14th September 2015

Broadcom

Jordan Mulcare

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Broadcom has announced a GNSS chip for IoT and wearable devices. The advanced chip enables devices such as fitness bands to deliver pinpoint location while consuming minimal power and in some cases can eliminate the need for a separate MCU.

The Broadcom BCM47748 removes a bulk of the signal processing from the device MCU by calculating position, velocity and time on-chip, delivering significant system power savings. The chip uses intelligent firmware to extend battery life while also maintaining accuracy in speed, distance and position for an enhanced user experience.

"Broadcom is extending its navigation leadership into the IoT ecosystem by helping customers deliver a premium location experience without compromising battery life or requiring a costly, power-hungry host processor," said Prasan Pai, Senior Director, Wireless Connectivity, Broadcom. "With more consumers demanding GNSS in a wider variety of applications, we see a tremendous opportunity to expand our reach into new devices with market-leading GNSS technology."

By absorbing location computations on-chip, Broadcom not only reduces power consumption but can also dramatically lower costs for OEMs by replacing the device MCU and reducing board space. Additionally, firmware inside the BCM47748 automatically adapts to user activity and context, whether biking, walking or running, to provide precise location results to the user, enabling performance that is not sacrificed for power savings.